Welcome to wonderful Las Vegas! This past couple of weeks have been full of travel for Kimberly and I. We headed for California with Kimberly's family and then after returning home I flew off to Vegas for a conference. It has been great getting to go places that I have never been to but I can tell you that home is the best place for me.
Jeff, Amy, and I all went to Vegas for work. It wasn't work like I usually do but it was what we like to call research and development. We were actually at a catering conference called Catersource. It's a very informative conference and its wonderful for networking other companies like ours. I had fun at this one. I was able to meet some great people as well as a couple of well known chefs.
My parents happened to be in town for their 30th anniversary. It turned out pretty cool to have them there because we were able to go to a Cirque de Solie show. We went to KA. It was absolutely amazing. I cant even put into words how cool it really was. Its something everyone should be able to see in their lives. Anyway just being their with my parents was worth more than all the information and fun I gained from the trip.
I have to talk about food! I was in heaven. As my blog title says I am a chef, but not really a grouchy one ;) I absolutely love food. To be in Vegas around all those restaurants and great chefs was great. The first night we were there, we went out to House of Blues at Mandalay Bay. It was more or less an upscale burger place. I have to admit they did make some tasty Mac and Cheese. I think this is because it was made from scratch and had lobster in it. The next day we ate breakfast in our hotel and it was a standard breakfast buffet with the option of a hot a la carte menu.
We attended our conference for the first day and after which we hit a place in the MGM Grand called L Atelier de Joel Robuchon. Now this place was probably were my taste buds died and went to heaven. Seriously the best meal ever. We had a 12 course tasting menu. The amuse bouche was my favorite dish. It was foie gras with a raspberry compote and Parmesan foam. I think if I could cry I would have cried out in shear joy. Exaggeration! It was really good though. Eleven courses later and I was a very happy person.
The next day we attended a class then went to breakfast at Payard Pâtisserie & Bistro in Caesars Palace. We sit in a comfy dining room where there is a live buffet station. Now I say live buffet because it has a chef in a round "kitchen" cooking Belgian waffles, crepes, and many other breakfast goodies. Next stop on our food journey was over to a Catersource event called "Out-of-the-Box," meaning boxed lunch ideas. It was a neat showing of food and ideas, but a little disorganized. My favorite attraction was the giant "food truck," which was totally made out of ICE! An entire ice sculpture carved and placed on drip pans that is a fully functional serving machine. I figured it took over 20 blocks of ice to make this sculpture happen. If you figure a block of ice weighs around 150-200 lbs then we are looking at a sculpture that weights close to 2 tons! Impressive!
Later that night we go to the Yellowtail Japanese Restaurant & Lounge in the Bellagio. We sit and are greeted by our server who says, "Order whenever you are ready. We leave the menus at the table so you can order as you go." I get excited because I am instantly calmed by this statement. I don't have to make a rash decision on what to eat. I get to take my time. This is awesome! We order a server recommended dish called Big Eye Tuna Pizza. It was Ahi tuna sliced thin and placed on thin homemade tortilla with a green onion sauce. MMMMM! We ordered a round of sushi and then Jeff insisted we order another round, to which Amy and I agreed to do. After this we ordered a 16 ounce Kobe beef ribeye steak with a kizami-wasabi compound butter and a side of wild mushrooms with truffle oil. The steak was so tender and the mushrooms were awesome. Last but not least we tried the Braised Kobe beef short ribs with baby root vegetables. Yet again this dish did not disappoint.
We come to the 4th day of our trip and we skip breakfast with plans on going to Meza Grill at Caesars Palace. Ive been here before so I kind of know my way around this menu. I bent on getting the smoked duck quesadilla again. We sit and begin the process of choosing our meal when the server shows up and asks Amy for her choice. She chooses a weekly menu that benefits the local food pantry. Then its my turn and I'm still indecisive. I ask Jeff to go ahead and the bum then orders the smoked chicken quesadilla!(formally the smoked duck) I stare at him with disgust. "Thief." I say to him. Fine I think, I'll order the mushroom quesadilla and the chicken and sweet potato hash. Again I love the mushroom quesadilla, but have my eye on that smoked chicken Jeff ordered. Amy laughs and says, "Corey you are too much fun to eat with." I think she enjoys my reactions to flavors. I guess I use my face to say what my mouth is thinking.
After we leave Meza Grill we attend some more of our conference and then head over to the Tradeshow. Its full of venders trying to get everyone and anyone to buy their wares. Its a fun 3 hours for me as I get to see what kind of sustainable merchandise is out there. We'll talk more on sustainability later. We have tickets to go to a benifit for children bbq dinner. I get to see my parents just before we head to the dinner. We make plans for the following day and depart company. Jeff, Amy, and I head for the buses that take us to the dinner. Its a beautiful buffet. It has a country feel as a bbq dinner should be. We walk around and look at some of the paintings the children have done and then out to the bbq grill to look on the "masters" at work. They have a really nice catering trailer and thats about it. We go into the dinner and rush to find a seat so we can see the show up close only to find out that we are going to watch someone season some ribs and then tell us to go eat.
Keep in mind this is a $129 meal. Now this is where the night gets stupid. Stupid is the best word here because we figured it was going to be a family style meal where we were served at our table. Nope! Buffets. Lets just say there were around 300 people in the room. Imagine everyone getting up and going to a buffet at the same time. Welcome to standing in line 101. A hour later we still have yet to eat our food. By now Im pissed and most of my food is cold. We sit, eat, and enjoy a conversation with lady from Florida that has a shooting range that she is converting into a country club for her members. Except for that conversation the night was a bust.
The 5th day of our journey turns out to be a very good one for me. I go to classes and then to the Tradeshow and then after which I head to my parents room in the MGM. Their room was updated with some cool technology. We head down to dinner at FiAMMA. I get a Maine lobster and truffle gnocchi. My mom gets an antipasto dish and my dad gets linguini with pesto and shrimp. I quickly find that my choice is one of the best all week. I eat it too quickly. I use the rolls to soak up any sauce that is left. I have to say this is a good day. We meet up with my mom's aunt and uncle and go to the show KA. It really is impressive.
After the show my parents and I head up to their room and we talk about all the happenings of the recent events of our lives. My mom of course does not want me to go, but I must. We depart with sweet goodbyes and I head back to my hotel. I miss seeing my parents. Its always so wonderful to be with them.
Wrapping up I will say that this has been a great trip full of food and ideas. Vegas is only getting more expensive and sinful. If you are planning a trip make sure you take lots of pictures, mostly of food! I will go back someday, but I will be taking my wonderful wife so she can partake of the food and shows. I love her forever and the mostest!
As always thanks for reading if you made it through this post.
As for my recipe of the day/week depending on when I get back on. How about this:
Black Bean Roasted Pepper "Hummus"
1 poblano pepper
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 15.5-ounce can black beans
1/4 of 15.5-ounce can garbanzo beans
2 cloves garlic, peeled
juice 1 lime
1 avocado, peeled and pitted
pinch chili powder
Kosher salt and cracked black pepper
1/4 to 1/3 cup sesame oil (depending on the consistency you like for your hummus)
Roasting the pepper. Preheat the oven to 450°. Massage the olive oil onto the pepper. Put the pepper in a sauté pan and slide it into the oven. Cook, tossing occasionally to sit on another side, until the skin of the pepper starts to blacken and separate from the rest of the pepper, about 20 to 25 minutes. Pull out the pepper and put it in a bowl. Tightly cover with plastic wrap and let the pepper sit until it has cooled completely. Peel it and seed it.
Making the hummus. Put the black beans, garbanzo beans, garlic, lime juice, avocado, chili powder, and the roasted poblano pepper into a food processor. Pulse it up until everything has blended into a chunky mix. Taste, then season with salt and pepper or more of any of the ingredients you feel it is lacking. With the food processor running, drizzle in the sesame oil until the hummus has reached the consistency you desire.
Aquired from glutenfreegirl.com
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